Species Pseudechis australis (Gray, 1842)
King Brown Snake, Mulga Snake
- Naja australis Gray, J.E. 1842. Description of some hitherto unrecorded species of Australian reptiles and batrachians. pp. 51-57 in Gray, J.E. (ed.). The Zoological Miscellany. London : Treuttel, Würz & Co. [55].
Type data:
Holotype BMNH 1946.1.20.39, Port Essington, NT.Secondary source:
Hoser, R. 1998. A new snake from Queensland, Australia (Serpentes: Elapidae). Monitor (Journal of the Victorian Herpetological Society) 10(1): 5-9, 31; Hoser, R. 2001. A current assessment of the status of the snakes of the genera Cannia and Pailsus, including descriptions of three new subspecies from the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Boydii — Journal of the Herpetological Society of Queensland July, 2001: 26-60. - Pseudechis darwiniensis Macleay, W. 1878. Notes on a collection of snakes from Port Darwin. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 2: 219-222 [220].
Type data:
Holotype AM R31927, Port Darwin, NT. - Pseudechis cupreus (part.) Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). 3. London : British Museum xiv 727 pp. 25 pls. [329] [description based on literature records (see also under Pseudonaja textilis Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)].
Type data:
Status unknown, 'Murray River', NSW/VIC. - Pseudechis denisonioides Werner, F. 1909. Reptilia (Geckonidae und Scincidae). pp. 251-278 in Michaelsen, W. & Hartmeyer, R. (eds). Die Fauna Südwest-Australiens. Jena : G. Fischer Vol. 2. [258].
Type data:
Holotype ZMH destroyed (holotype destroyed, see Hellermann (2020)), Eradu, WA. - Pseudechis platycephalus Thomson, D.F. 1933. Notes on the Australian snakes of the genera Pseudechis and Oxyuranus. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1933: 855-860 [859, pl. 3 figs 1-2].
Type data:
Holotype NMV D12355, East Alligator River, Arnhem Land, NT. - Denisonia brunnea Mitchell, F.J. 1951. The South Australian reptile fauna. Part 1. Ophidia. Records of the South Australian Museum (Adelaide) 9: 545-557 [551 fig. 2].
Type data:
Holotype SAMA R3151, Mount Wedge, near Elliston on the W coast of Eyre Peninsula, SA. - Cannia centralis Wells, R.W. & Wellington, C.R. 1985. A classification of the Amphibia and Reptilia of Australia. Australian Journal of Herpetology Supplementary Series 1: 1-61 [Date published September, 1985] [45].
Type data:
Holotype AM R60317, 8 km N Tennant Creek, on Stuart Highway, NT [19°34'S 134°11'E]. - Pailsus pailsi Hoser, R. 1998. A new snake from Queensland, Australia (Serpentes: Elapidae). Monitor (Journal of the Victorian Herpetological Society) 10(1): 5-9, 31 [5].
Type data:
Holotype NMV D69704, East Leichardt Dam, near Mount Isa, QLD [20°47'S 137°47'E].
Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy
- Cogger, H.G., in Cogger, H.G., Cameron, E.E. & Cogger, H.M. 1983. Amphibia and Reptilia. 313 pp. in Walton, D.W. (ed.). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service Vol. 1 vi + 313 pp. [231]
Generic Combinations
- Pseudechis australis (Gray, 1842).
Introduction
An alternate taxonomy (Hoser 2001) considers this taxon more diverse than treated herein, with additional subspecific content being: Pseudechis australis burgessi Hoser, 2001; P. a. newmani Hoser, 2001; and P. a. aplini Hoser, 2001. Additionally, Hoser (1998, 2001) considers a northern population to be a distinct taxon, Pseudechis pailsi Hoser, 1998. This taxonomy has not gained widespread acceptance.
Distribution
States
New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia
Extra Distribution Information
Australian Endemic.
IBRA
NSW, NT, Qld, SA, WA: Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Burt Plain (BRT), Central Arnhem (CA), Carnarvon (CAR), Channel Country (CHC), Central Kimberley (CK), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Central Ranges (CR), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Dampierland (DL), Davenport Murchison Ranges (DMR), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Finke (FIN), Gascoyne (GAS), Gawler (GAW), Gibson Desert (GD), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), MacDonnell Ranges (MAC), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Mulga Lands (ML), Murchison (MUR), Northern Kimberley (NK), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Pilbara (PIL), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Stony Plains (STP), Sturt Plateau (STU), Tanami (TAN), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Wet Tropics (WT), Yalgoo (YAL)
Ecological Descriptors
Desert, hummock grassland, low open woodland, low shrubland, low woodland, noctidiurnal, open forest, open scrub, oviparous, predator, tall forest, tall shrubland, terrestrial, tussock grassland, woodland.
Extra Ecological Information
General carnivore.
General References
Hoser, R. 1998. A new snake from Queensland, Australia (Serpentes: Elapidae). Monitor (Journal of the Victorian Herpetological Society) 10(1): 5-9, 31
Hoser, R. 2001. A current assessment of the status of the snakes of the genera Cannia and Pailsus, including descriptions of three new subspecies from the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Boydii — Journal of the Herpetological Society of Queensland July, 2001: 26-60
Leonardi, T.M., Howden, M.E.H. & Spence, I. 1979. A lethal myotoxin isolated from the venom of the Australian king brown snake (Pseudechis australis). Toxicon 17: 549 (venom)
Mackay, R.D. 1955. A revision of the genus Pseudechis. Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 1953–54: 15-23 (taxonomy)
Common Name References
CAVS 2006. Census of Australian Vertebrate Species. Australian Biological Resources Study. (King Brown Snake)
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07-Feb-2024 | ELAPIDAE | 11-Jan-2017 | MODIFIED | |
| 07-Feb-2024 | 26-Aug-2013 | MODIFIED | ||
| 08-Mar-2011 | 08-Mar-2011 | MODIFIED | ||
| 12-Feb-2010 | (import) |